What if we could meet Jesus again for the first time?
The Jesus we know is the resurrected, exalted Son of God, very God of very God, worthy of glory and honor and praise. We all say "Amen!" to that affirmation of faith.
Yet, there is another side to Jesus that we must not forget. It is this very human Jesus that we meet in the four Gospels. It is this Jesus who came to show us God's love. it is this Jesus who died to set us free. It is to this Jesus that I dedicate this blog.

Monday, January 11, 2010

”So we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.” ( Romans 12:5)

As St. Paul writes in his following letter to the Corinthians, love must be the focus of our lives.

"And I will show you a still more excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind, love is not jealous or boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrong, but rejoices in the right. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecy, it will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood. So faith, hope, love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Make love your aim, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts.” (1 Cor. 13-14:1)

(I absolutely love that passage. Paul really understood what it means to love.)

The ending statement from St. Paul references the spiritual gifts. The proper use of our spiritual gifts must be guided by a constant focus on love. Each of us possesses our own spiritual gifts given to us by God. We are given different gifts to encourage us to come together and help each other in our community. We must take a risk and love each other because only in loving one another can we truly love God.

When we choose to bring unconditional love into our personal, professional, community and family lives, we begin to restore wholeness and happiness to our world. We recognize the "Kingdom is at hand". The effort to love as Jesus loves us is rewarded in the realization that we have gained a new perspective on everything and every part of our lives and the lives of the people we touch are benefited.

“And this is his commandment that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” (1 John 3:23-24)

Choosing Jesus

”I am the Way--yes, and the Truth and the Life. No one can get to the Father except by means of me.” (John 14:6)

(Jesus in not presenting an obsticle, rather, he presents an invitation to share life with him.)

Even though Jesus chooses us first, we still need to choose to follow Him in our everyday lives. Since our lifestyles reveal our inner self, to connect with Jesus spiritually we must change our lifestyles, attitudes and actions to mirror those of Jesus. We must take on the heart and mind of Jesus in everything we do and say.

Today and every day, I make the effort to love. Remember that love is a choice, not just an emotional response. To love is to care, have respect, show forgiveness, reserve judgement, and to walk with a compassionate frame of mind in all things. It is not easy, but it is very freeing to love. Loving allows people to be who they are. Loving allows you to be who you are. To love is to let go of control. Loving places you withing God's Kingdom. Try love, you may be surprised that in loving God and loving others, you will gain so much more than you give. Love will show you how to live life with "joy".
I have heard it said that,quote, "there must be a heaven, because this life is sure hell". Apparently these people have not really understood the message of Jesus. The Kingdom is here, the Kingdom is now, the Kingdom is love. Come join the Kingdom. Let go and love.